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Grant Hackett heads to US for treatment for dependency on sleeping pill Stilnox, manager says

Updated
Wed 26 Feb 2014, 11:40 AM AEDT

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Hackett said he was looking forward to "a little bit of rest and recovery and time off".

Getty: Al Bello, file photo

Three-time Olympic champion Grant Hackett has flown to the United States for treatment for dependency on the sleeping pill Stilnox, his manager says.

Manager Chris White has issued a statement saying Hackett has a dependency on the drug.

"Grant is currently in transit to seek treatment for a dependency to Stilnox medication," Mr White said.

"His family and friends are enormously proud of his courage in pursuing this course of action."

Speaking to reporters after touching down in the US, Hackett said he was not going to a rehab centre.

"I'm obviously just going away to have a break," he said.

"I've had an extended period of, I guess, stress and lots of other things taking place in my life so ... just looking forward to having a little bit of rest and recovery and time off and recharging the batteries."

The latest development comes after Hackett was photographed partially naked in the early hours of Saturday morning at Melbourne's Crown hotel searching for his four-year-old son.

Father says family planned intervention

Hackett's father says the swimmer is in denial about the extent of his problems and in need of a stint in rehab.

"I think Grant is a little bit in denial. He thinks he just needs a bit of a recharge and a rest," Neville Hackett told Sydney radio station Triple M.

"I'd say rehab is certainly something that's needed there."

What is Stilnox?

Prescription drug used to treat insomnia and some brain disorders

Sometime prescribed to athletes who are having trouble sleeping before big events

Prescribing it to Australian Olympians was banned just before the London Games

Recreational users take Stilnox and deliberately resist its sleep-inducing effects

Doing so can induce a feeling of a 'high' as well as visual effects

Its recreational use has been reported by other elite sportspeople including cyclists

He added that his son would not be able to "fool the experts for long".

Neville Hackett said the family sought help recently after becoming aware there was a problem.

He said friends and family met with experts who recommended treatment in the US and planned an intervention that was brought forward to Friday night.

In the lead-up to the London Olympics, members of Australia's 4x100 freestyle relay team, including James Magnussen and Eamon Sullivan, were involved in a controversial "bonding session" that involved taking Stilnox.

The six swimmers were fined and given a final warning but were not banned from competing in Rio 2016.

Mental health problems common in elite sports: expert

Associate Professor John Mendoza, the former chief executive of the Australian Sports Drug Agency and the National Advisory Council on Mental Health, says the big names who acknowledge their mental health issues are "just the tip of an iceberg".

"There are many elite athletes who, not only post-career but during their career, also struggle with these issues," he told ABC Local Radio's Bern Young.

"We have to really examine what is happening in elite sport to produce these higher rates of mental illness than their same-age peers.

"We've got to do more, not only to assist those people post-career, but also ensure that during those elite years of competition we're not depriving them of the opportunities all people need to develop their social skills and their coping skills."